A NEW parkrun is set to be launched in Cofton Park in the coming weeks.
The weekly meets, which will take place at 9am every Saturday, are being introduced by running enthusiast Kevin Oakes.
He began running at the age of 17 when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Running helped him control his blood sugar levels and with his mental health crisis at that point.
In 2016, Kevin started the Great Birmingham Saturday morning runs at Ley Hill Park in Northfield and chip timing was introduced.
He also started the South Birmingham Striders running club in 2023 which has also gone from strength-to-strength and grown in numbers.
The Striders meet on Thursday nights at 6.30pm in Herbert’s Yard and on the Ryland Centre Running Track in Bromsgrove at the same time on Monday nights.
Kevin told the Standard: “I wanted to help get people running and stay fit and healthy.
“And running can help people with addictions, general health and mental health.
“I also wanted to do something to help with the regeneration of Longbridge at the same time.
“When MG Rover went, the area lost a lot and has been recovering ever since.
“I thought getting a parkrun would be a great way of doing it.”
With £4,000 needed to fund a parkrun, a GoFundMe page was set up to generate the cash needed and Kevin applied to the organisers and obtained the landowner’s permission.
Now the event needs support and volunteers to make it a success.
Kevin hopes, provided everything is finalised in time by the parkrun organisers, the first Cofton Park event will be on July 4.
In the coming weeks there will be social media pages and a web page launched for the new Cofton Park parkrun.
But in the meantime, people can visit the South Birmingham Striders Facebook page for more information and further updates.
Worldwide, almost 450,000 people undertake parkruns each week and NHS GPs have even prescribed them to help with people’s varying medical conditions.
